APNU+AFC making a mockery of transparency and accountability systems – Edghill
Aug 23, 2016 , http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ity-systems-edghill/
The settlements, the kickbacks, and the rampant corruption at some Ministries spell clearly that the officials of this new government have already begun filling their pockets. Therefore, they will be making a fool of Guyana come next year when they begin submitting information about their wealth to the Integrity Commission.
Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill
That is the opinion expressed yesterday by former Junior Minister of Finance, Juan Edghill as he spoke about the apparent lack of accountability and transparency in the new government.
Edghill, who served under a People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government that was also accused of rampant corruption said that it is clear that corruption is already at uncontrollable levels in this new administration.
The former Minister said that President David Granger’s announcement that there will be a fully functioning Integrity Commission by the end of this year should not get Guyanese too excited – the reason being that by the time declarations are to be made “maybe by June next year” APNU+AFC would have already had two years in office without declaring assets.
Edghill said that within these two years, some amount of illegal wealth could have already been secured.
The Member of Parliament recalled that several months ago, he took to the National Assembly a Motion that called for the public declaration of wealth of all Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Motion, if it were passed in its original form, would have seen all MPs publicly declaring their income tax return over the last 10 years.
Though seemingly simple, the Motion was one which had “teeth”.
Dissatisfied with amendments made by the Government, Edghill sought to have his motion withdrawn. But by then it was too late. The Standing Order which gave Edghill the right to withdraw his Motion—Standing Order 36 (1)—also stated that the Motion could have only been withdrawn if there was no dissentient voice. So, much to Edghill and his colleagues’ disappointment, the Motion was allowed to stand after Minister Raphael Trotman opted to be that dissentient voice.
This case was unprecedented in Guyana’s Parliament. Edghill’s motion resolved to have all MPs, “in the interest of transparency and accountability in public office, make available to the public their tax returns to the Guyana Revenue Authority for the last 10 years”.
Further, he asked that the House “urge the government to expeditiously table legislation to give effect to this motion.”
Edghill told his colleagues that the motion is one of the strongest anti-corruption mechanisms that can be put in place in Guyana at this time. He challenged the Members on the government’s side to support the motion to show that they have “clean hands.”
“Every no vote will tell the nation my walk is not consistent with my talk. You will be telling them, I bluff you, I fool you, I am not sincere.
Sarcasm squeezing out of his voice, Edghill said, “That is not what you want to tell the people. Is it?
The Motion was passed amended. Those Amendments will not secure public declaration. Those amendments basically call for support of mechanisms that already exist under the Income Tax Law.
Yesterday, Edghill said that the reason he called for the 10-year declaration was to track the progression of accumulated wealth and assets. “We needed a baseline.” He said that the baseline would have shown if each politician’s wealth has grown at a rate consistent with their earning power.
“Now there will be no track to show where you were to where you’ve come,” said Edghill.
The former Minister added, “All this smooth fancy rhetoric cannot be taken seriously. All the rhetoric is only to hide the reality that the APNU+AFC abhor vehement transparency and accountability. They do not want people to know the truth,” said Edghill.
“APNU and AFC Members of Parliament never made declaration to the Integrity Commission before. They made all sorts of excuses. So there will be no comparison. They know very well what they are doing. They are making a mockery of the systems of accountability.”